Under the terms of the collaboration, Bayer HealthCare receives exclusive worldwide rights to develop anticancer compounds to the target using ImmunoGen’s maytansinoid cell-killing agents and linker technology. Bayer HealthCare is responsible for the research, development, manufacturing and marketing of products resulting from this license.
ImmunoGen will receive an upfront payment of $4 million. For each compound developed and marketed by Bayer under this collaboration, ImmunoGen is entitled to milestone payments potentially totaling $170.5 million plus royalties on commercial sales.
ImmunoGen also is entitled to receive financial compensation for the production of any preclinical and non-pivotal clinical materials and for any product development research done on behalf of Bayer HealthCare.
Daniel Junius, president and COO of ImmunoGen, said: “We’re delighted to have Bayer as a collaborator and look forward to working with them to achieve better therapeutic options for cancer patients. Our collaborators now include Amgen, Bayer HealthCare, Biogen Idec, Biotest, Genentech and Sanofi-Aventis – an array of US and international biotechnology and pharmaceutical firms.”